What Causes Cellulite After 40?

Cellulite is totally normal fat, but that doesn’t mean you’re too happy about its presence. The skin on your thighs, stomach, buttocks, or arms may look dimpled or have a cottage cheese appearance.

The especially annoying part about cellulite is that you can have it even if you’re at or near an ideal weight for your height. You can’t do any exercises to rid your body of cellulite, so once you have it, you’re probably stuck with it — unless you come to see us. 

In this month’s post, our providers at eleven19 MedSpa explain what causes cellulite and how you can get rid of it.

What is cellulite?

Cellulite is benign, noncancerous dimpling of the flesh on your thighs, stomach, or buttocks. It may look like cottage cheese or an orange peel. It has to do with the connective tissue under your skin. The fibrous bands under your skin may not move evenly with your muscles, creating a dimpled appearance.

Although it doesn’t present any health problems, it’s not very attractive. Unfortunately, it affects women much more often than men; 80-90% of women who have gone through puberty have cellulite, whereas only 10% of men have it.

Unlike other health issues, cellulite doesn’t appear to have much to do with weight. You can stay at the same weight all your life and still get cellulite. It’s also one part of your body that you can’t change very much.

How we treat cellulite

Spot-treating exercises don’t do anything to get rid of cellulite, but we do have a treatment we use at eleven19 MedSpa that works: CoolSculpting®

This FDA-approved treatment uses energy to target your fat cells, freezing them. This is different from some other cosmetic procedures because the results aren’t immediate, instead gradually appearing over time as your fat cells begin to shrink and die off.

Most of our patients need more than one CoolSculpting session to see results. We discuss your needs with you when you come in for treatment, but most people need 3-5 treatments, each spaced several weeks apart.

The results show over time, so you should start seeing results in 6-12 weeks after you have a session.

If you would like to learn more about CoolSculpting and whether it can help eliminate your cellulite, come in for a consultation. Call us at one of our three eleven19 Medical + Weight Loss locations — Santa Ana, Fullerton, or Rancho Cucamonga, California.